Equipment for the inspection of filled ampoules

ABSTRACT

An ampoule inspection device including a rotatable forwarding wheel provided on a conical peripheral surface thereof with circumferentially spaced nests into which ampoules to be inspected are respectively fed. A rotating wheel engages each of the ampoules during transportation thereof in the respective nest of the forwarding wheel for rotating the ampoule about its longitudinal axis so that the contents of each ampoule are subjected to two centrifugal forces, one produced by the movement of the ampoule about said axis of the forwarding wheel and said other by the rotation of the ampoule about its axis. Illuminating means are arranged rearwardly of the rotating wheel, as considered in the direction of rotation of said forwarding wheel, for transilluminating each ampoule in the direction of its longitudinal axis, and means for separately receiving the rejected and acceptable ampoules which are inspected by the eye of the operator are arranged adjacent the peripheral surface of the forwarding wheel.

nited States Patent r191 Kollzir et al.

1 EQUIPMENT FOR THE INSPECTION OF FILLED AMPOULES [75] Inventors: Arpd Kollr; Istvan. Takacs; Bla

- Sandor; Sandor Nepper, all of Budapest, Hungary [73] Assignee: Richter Gedeon Vegyeszeti Gyar R.T., Budapest, Hungary [22] Filed: Jan. 24,1974 [21] Appl. No.: 436,383

Related U.S. Application/Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 300,654, Oct. 25, 1972,

abandoned.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 30, 1971 Hungary R1453 [52] US. Cl. ..209/l11.7, 209/124 [51] Int. Cl. B07c 5/342 [58] Field of Search 209/73, 111.6, 111.7, 122, 209/124; 356/197, 240

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,677,304 5/1954 Wallingford 356/197 2,919,801 1/1960 Pechy 209/lll.7 3,217,877 l1/1965 I-lonjyo 356/197 X 3,528,544 9/1970 Noguchi 356/197 1451 Feb. 4, 1975 2/1971 Messerschmidt'. 209/111.7 X 3,756,402 1.7 X

9/1973 Wagers .4 209/11 Primary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg I Assistant Examiner-Thomas E. Kocovsky Attorney, Agent, or FirmMichael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT An ampoule inspection device including a rotatable forwarding wheel provided on a conical peripheral surface thereof with circumferentially spaced nests into which ampoules to be inspected are respectively fed A rotating wheel engages each of the ampoules during transportation thereof in the respective nest of the forwarding wheel for rotating the ampoule about its longitudinal axis so that the contents of each am- I poule are subjected to two centrifugal forces, one produced by the movement of the ampoule about said axis of the forwarding wheel and said other by the rotation of the ampoule about its axis. Illuminating means are arranged rearwardly of the rotating wheel, as considered in the direction of rotation of said forwarding wheel, for transilluminating each ampoule in the direction of its longitudinal axis, and means for separately receiving the rejected and acceptable ampoules which are inspected by the eye of the operator are arranged adjacent the peripheral surface of the forwarding wheel.

9 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures EQUIPMENT onrna INSPECTION or FILLED AMPOULES This is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 300,654 filed Oct. 25, 1972, now abandoned.

The object of the invention is an equipment for the inspection of filled ampoules and for the sorting out of those containing contaminations. Such ampoules can be transferred to a special storage place and separated from those unobjectionable.

The inspection of filled and sealed ampoules has been a problem for long and no solution answering the demands in every respect has been found yet.

a rubber wheel pressed against the mantle. The ampoule, whirled, passes on to the place of inspection. At

i this point a collimated light beam transilluminates it in In many instances, also today ampoules are inspected I by manual work, that is to say, without mechanical aids and equipment. By this method four to six ampoules held by their necks are shaken, then inspected in front of an illuminated background by the naked eye. Those found contaminated are sorted out.

The drawbacks of this method for inspecting ampoules are that itsperformance is poor and it requires tiring manual work. The control is completely subjective and puts a heavy strain on the eye. Another serious drawback of this method is that bubbles formed while the ampoules are shaken may disturb evaluation. This disadvantage is the more serious as the inspection of several ampoules at a time distracts the attention of the person performing the control.

With one of the known ampoule inspecting machines the greatest part of the operations is performed by the machine. The machine takes out several ampoules, usually five, at a time from a container and passes them to the place of inspection along a rectilinear path. Before the ampoules have reached the place of inspection, they are whirled about their long axis, being held by their necks, after which the ampoules can be inspected in front of an illuminated. background through a magnifying glass. Ampoules containing contamination can be sorted out by means of a push-button operated device, and the machine passes only those found clean to a receiver.

One of the most serious drawbacks of this machine is that it whirls. the ampoules while holding them by their necks and this part of the ampoule being hotformed is liable to break if the rotating surface is inaccurate. This results in high percentages of breakages and considerable loss. Another handicap of this machine is that the inspection of five ampoules at a time distracts the attention of the observer and the unavoidably large field of vision unnecessarily tires the eyes of the tester. Another source of distraction of attention is that fivesorting buttons have to be handled and the ampoule found contaminated can be removed only by punching in the respective button. A further inconvenience: as five ampoules are inspected at a time, they dwell in the field of vision for pretty long time. During this relatively long interval of time the effect of whirling considerably drops and in the ampoule inspected last the liquid may come nearly to standstill. As a result, the control of such ampoules containing liquid practically at standstill is unreliable which means that the test results are not consistent. This disadvantage might be eliminated by having the ampoules whirled for a second time. This would, however, bring down the performance. Also the angle of inclination of the container of the machine is objectionable, as, at the given angle of the direction of the long axis. The ampoule is inspected in front of a dark background through a magnifying glass. Ampoules found to be reject can be marked by means of a push button thus preventing them from getting into the receiver of ampoules containing pure liquid.

One of the drawbacks of the above discussed machine is'that it holds the ampoules at the 'point of inspection at such an anglethat makes their viewing difficult and this makes the control unsatisfactory. While the ampoule is being transported along a rectilinear path after the whirling has taken place the motion of the liquid is insufficient, and bubbles might be formed in the liquid disturbing observation.

In spite of the existence and use -in practice of the known machines, considering their drawbacks pointed out above, industry has for long demanded the construction of an ampoule inspecting equipment to perform inspection automatically. Experiments and attempts to solve the problem have been made permanently. It goes without saying that one of the. requirements of such machines is that inspection, together with the decision following it should take place without the intervention of man, that is to say, it is the equipment that should decide, by itself, which of the ampoules are to be passed to the receiver of the unobjectionable ones and which to be sorted out to go a separatestorage place.

Solutions attempted so far have not brought about satisfactory results. In expert quarters the opinion has become prevailing that, even if. an equipment that makes all operations in the controlof ampoules mechanized could possibly be constructed, its application in practice would be still doubtful because of economic considerations, and the operation of such automatic machines would certainly be uneconomical.

A common property of the ampoule inspecting equipments is that, to drive the liquid contained in the ampoules into motion,they move the ampoules along a rectilinear path and whirl them while they are travelling along this path. As a result of such motion the liquid comes under the effect of a centrifugal field of force resulting from whirling and of gravity. Solid parti' cles present in the liquid particles constituting contaminationwill show the following'behaviour, depending on the quantitative relationship of the said fields of forces.

When the centrifugal force is considerably greater than gravity, then the particles present in the liquid particularly those larger and heavier will be held against the ampoule wall. If, however, it is gravity that dominates, that is to say, the centrifugal'field of force is insignificant, then the large particles will not be moved away from the bottom of the ampoule.

Both extremes of the centrifugal field of force are undesirable for the inspection of the ampoules, as contaminations in the liquid escape detection. So as to eliminate this drawback whirling should be optimized, a thing next to impossible in practice. Thus, with the known solutions, the particles present in the ampoules will move uniformly in the space, the larger ones held against the ampoule wall or else, they do not even leave the bottom. Therefore, to ensure the detection of the particles the ampoules are transilluminated throughout their entire cross section, yet then, because of the nonuniform dimensions of the ampoules intense light getting into the observers eye disturbs the inspection. Another way to stop the ordered motion of the particles is to subject the ampoules to lesser or greater shaking. In this case the motion of the particles undoubtedly becomes more favourable, but shaking produces air bubbles which are deceiving as air bubbles may be mistaken for contaminations in the inspection.

Summing up we may state that the known systems of moving ampoules in the inspection methods, namely whirling while moving along a rectilinear path are inadequate as they do not ensure the sure detection of contaminations in the liquid contained in the ampoules, they have an untoward effect on the intensity and objectivity of the inspection.

The equipment according to the invention permits the elimination of the drawbacks of the known solutions. The primary aim of the invention is that the equipment should ensure the unordered motion of the liquid contained in the ampoules without giving rise to cavitation or bubble formation. Another aim is to bring the ampoules in ,the equipment to a position best suited for inspection, that the passing on of the ampoules and their sending to the desired place should arrest the attention of the observer to the smallest extent and, in addition, that in case of a doubtful decision the respective ampoule should be sent to another examination.

The equipment according to the invention solves this fundamental aim by making the ampoules travel along a circular path after having been whirled, the plane of the circular path'making an angle with the long axis of the ampoule while being whirled, and this angular position keeps changing until the ampoule has reached the place of transillumination. Thus to the centrifugal field arising from whirling an accessorial centrifugal field is added, which comes from the ampoules being moved along a circular path. Considering that this accessorial centrifugal field comes about by a motion of relatively high angular acceleration,'an unordered flow will develop in the ampoules and the particles present in the liquid will move along paths consistent with turbulent flow. As a consequence, the particles leave both the side walls and the bottoms of the ampoules.

Therefore essentially three fields of force are acting on the ampoules in the course of the operation of the equipment according to the invention: gravity, a centrifugal field coming from whirling and an accessorial centrifugal field originating in the motion of the ampoules along a circular path. The magnitudes of these fields of forces can be coordinated by the adequate selection of the speeds of the motions that bring them about in a way that no cavitation or bubble formation can take place in the liquid contained in the ampoules.

The equipment according to the invention comprises an unclassified container that holds the ampoules to be inspected and passes them on to the equipment, a working receiver to hold the ampoules found unobjectionable and a reject receiver that holds the ampoules sorted out.

To dispatch the ampoules depending on the result of the inspection the equipment has a reject ejector actuated by the operator and a catch to send the ampoules of uncertain evaluation back to another inspection.

The transilluminating unit of the equipment includes a light source, an optical train, a colour filter and light deflector organs.

Consequently, the gist of the equipment according to the invention, in conformity with those said above is that it has a rotary forwarding wheel having several nests placed on a conical surface to hold ampoules, next to the mantle of the forwarding wheel, preferably at its deepest part a light source, a rotating wheel arranged to the mantle of the forwarding wheel at a point before the light source relatively to the direction of rotation of the forwarding wheel, an unclassified container, a reject receiver and a working receiver joining the forwarding wheel.

In the equipment according to the invention, in order to secure the desired effects the locatiomangular positions with respect to one another and the geometrical formation of the individual components are of special importance.

The equipment according to the invention will be explained in detail with reference to an embodiment illustrated in the enclosed drawings by way of example.

FIG. 1 is the side view of the equipment.

FIG. 2 a view from the direction of the straight line markedAA in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 a section of thewhirling device along the plane marked BB in FIG. 2.

Ampoules to be inspected are held in the unclassified container 1. The plane of the unclassified container 1 makes an angle with the vertical, the angle of inclination a selected so as to ensure the safe feeding of the ampoules. Experiments have given the angle a as 25 which can be considered as an optimum.

As seen in FIG. 1, the long axes of the ampoules placed in the unclassified container make an angle B with the horizontal which angle is of the same magnitude as a for considerations to geometry.

From unclassified container 1 under the effect of dolly wheels 2 the ampoules move towards forwarding wheel 3. Dolly wheels 2 prevent the ampoules from forming vaults and promote their continuous forward- Ampoules arranged in single file by the dolly wheels.

travel towards the forwarding wheel 3. Forwarding wheel 3 is located under the unclassified container 1. Forwarding wheel 3 has a mantle of the shape of a truncated cone, nests 4 arranged in the direction of the generatrix of the cone surface are made in this mantle.

The cone angle e of forwarding wheel 3 is of to 100", preferably and the axis 14 of the wheel departs both from vertical and horizontal, the angle 7 made with the vertical being 15 to 30, preferably 20. In the course of the operation of the equipment forwarding wheel 3 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2. Rotating wheel 5 is fitted to the mantle of forwarding wheel 3, being adjusted in a way that by its mantle it touches the side of ampoule 13 placed in nest 4. The rotating wheel 5 causes ampoule l3 arriving under it to rotate about the long axis of the ampoule that is to say, it whirls the ampoule. In order to enhance the effect of whirling the rotating wheel 5, or at least its outer mantle, should preferably be made of some adhering material.

Ampoule l3 transported by forwarding wheel 3 travels along the path while rotating. In consequence of the whirling of the ampoule about its own axis plus rotation produced by forwarding wheel 3 the centrifugal fields which give the new effect of the equipment according to the invention are brought about, namely that a turbulent flow pattern is produced inside the ampoule in the course of which also the particles that may possibly be contained in the liquid will follow the same flow pattern, that is to say, they cannot stick either to the mantle or to the bottom of the ampoule.

Illumination unit 16 is fitted to the lowest'part of forwarding wheel 3 or in the vicinity of this part. The unit comprises light source 6, optical trains to collimate the light beam, colour filters 7 and possible other light deflecting organs, not shown in the Figure. The axis of the ampoule at the point of transillumination departs from the vertical. As resulting from the conditions of the preferable arrangement discussed above, the angle 8 of axis made with the vertical is preferably 25.

The ampoules are transilluminated along their long axes, as represented in FIG. 1. While transilluminated, the ampoule can be inspected from behind screen 8 through magnifying lens 9.

When contamination is found in the transilluminated ampoule, the operator marks it by means of a push button or other structural detail known in itself, not indicated in the Figure. As a result of the marking, when the forwarding wheel 3 having rotated on and the ampoule marked has arrived at the reject ejector point 10, another known device, not represented in the drawing will send this ampoule to the reject receiver.

Ampoules not marked this way, that is to say, those found allright are carried on by the forwarding wheel to arrive at the mouth of the working receiver 12 and under the action of forwarding organs enter into the said working receiver 12.

When in the course of transillumination it cannot be unequivocally decided whether the contents of the ampoule are all right or not, the continuous operation of the entire equipment need not-be broken off or the process retained. The ampoule is provided with a mark denoting repetition by means of an organ similar to that for the marking of reject ampoules. As a consequence of such marking, catch 17 blocks the path of the ampoule towards working receiver 12, the ampoule cannot leave nest 4 and is caused to pass another circle and another inspection, accordingly.

It is desirable that the equipment be completed with a facility to vary the intensity of illumination. The colour and intensity of the light can be varied by the application of the colour filters which permits the determination of the smallest contamination that can still be detected and improves ,the definiteness of the control.

With the equipment according to the invention the ampoules are inspected in front ofa black background which makes the flashing of the particles in turbulent motion in the field of vision more conspicuous.

The rotation of forwarding wheel 3 is intermittent, following from which after whirling the ampoules are subject to pretty high acceleration, favorable as regards the accessorial field of centrifugal force. Intermittent motion is advantageous also because the ampoules are inspected while they are at a standstill. Naturally, the liquid contained in the ampoules goes on rotating even when the ampoules have been stopped.

As seen also from the implementation described above by Way of example, the equipment according to the invention is of simple construction, fully meeting, nevertheless, all demands of the procedure of ampoule inspection. It does not cause any inconvenience for the observer as he need not divide his attention by inspecting several ampoules at a time, the position of theampoule to be inspected as well as the way of illumination put the possible minimum strain on his eyes/In consequence of the mutliple fields of forces the efficiency of inspection is considerably better than with the known solutions devised for the same purpose.

What we claim is:

1. In an ampoule inspection device a combination comprising a rotary forwarding wheel having a frustoconical peripheral surface provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced nests for holding ampoules therein; illuminating means adjacent said peripheral surface for illuminating ampoules located in said nests; a rotating wheel arranged adjacent said peripheral surface of said forwarding wheel ahead of said illuminating means, as considered in the direction of rotation of said forwarding wheel, for rotating ampoules in said nests about their axes; and means for feeding containers to be inspected seriatim into said nests of said forwarding wheel. I 3

2. A combination as defined in claim I, wherein the forwarding wheel is rotatable about an axis which includes an acute angle with the vertical. I

3. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said acute angle is between 15 and 30.

4. A combination asdefined in claim 2, wherein the cone angle of said peripheral surface of said forwarding wheel is between and 100.

5. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said illuminating means are arranged adjacent the lowest portion of said forwarding wheel.

6. A combination as defined in claim 1, and including a first container adapted to contain ampoules to be inspected, said feeding means cooperating with said first container for feeding ampoules contained therein seriatim into said nests, a reject receiver adjacent said forwarding wheel, and means including a second container for receiving acceptable ampoules from said forwarding wheel.

7. A combination as defined in claim 6, including means between said forwarding wheel and said means for receiving acceptable ampoules for preventing, at the will ofthe operator, movementof ampoules from said nests into said second container.

8. A combination as defined in claim 6, wherein said illuminating means comprise a light source, an optical train, a color filter and light-deflecting components to transilluminate each of said ampoules as it arrives at the region of said illuminating means in the direction of its longitudinal axis.

9. A combination as defined in claim 8, wherein said forwarding wheel is rotatable about anaxis including an angle of substantially 20 to the vertical, wherein said peripheral surface of said forwarding wheel has a cone angleof substantially and wherein said ampoules are fed from said first container to said nests on said peripheral surface along a path including an angle of substantially 25 to the vertical. 

1. In an ampoule inspection device a combination comprising a rotary forwarding wheel having a frustoconical peripheral surface provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced nests for holding ampoules therein; illuminating means adjacent said peripheral surface for illuminating ampoules located in said nests; a rotating wheel arranged adjacent said peripheral surface of said forwarding wheel ahead of said illuminating means, as considered in the direction of rotation of said forwarding wheel, for rotating ampoules in said nests about their axes; and means for feeding containers to be inspected seriatim into said nests of said forwarding wheel.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the forwarding wheel is rotatable about an axis which includes an acute angle with the vertical.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said acute angle is between 15* and 30*.
 4. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein the cone angle of said peripheral surface of said forwarding wheel is between 80* and 100*.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 2, wherein said illuminating means are arranged adjacent the lowest portion of said forwarding wheel.
 6. A combination as defined in claim 1, and including a first container adapted to contain ampoules to be inspected, said feeding means cooperating with said first container for feeding ampoules contained therein seriatim into said nests, a reject receiver adjacent said forwarding wheel, and means including a second container for receiving acceptable ampoules from said forwarding wheel.
 7. A combination as defined in claim 6, including means between said forwarding wheel and said means for receiving acceptable ampoules for preventing, at the will of the operator, movement of ampoules from said nests into said second container.
 8. A combination as defined in claim 6, wherein said illuminating means comprise a light source, an optical train, a color filter and light-deflecting components to transilluminate each of said ampoules as it arrives at the region of said illuminating means in the direction of its longitudinal axis.
 9. A combination as defined in claim 8, wherein said forwarding wheel is rotatable about an axis including an angle of substantially 20* to the vertical, wherein said peripheral surface of said forwarding wheel has a cone angle of substantially 90*, and wherein said ampoules are fed from said first container to said nests on said peripheral surface along a path including an angle of substantially 25* to the vertical. 